Programme Management Support Analyst (M&E)

Background Information - Ghana Multi Country Office (GMCO)

GMCO is responsible for managing strategic and operational risks associated with a subset of the regional portfolio of engagements, developing and delivering cost effective services contributing to partners’ sustainable results and achievements of UNOPS management results.

• Liaise and develop engagements, and deliver services responding to partner needs.
• Leverage advice and integrate delivery modalities of the three Delivery Practices and the Global Partner Service Office.
• Maintain appropriate arrangements and capacity for direct transactional support for delivery of the sub-regional portfolio.

During the last 15 years, UNOPS has delivered a variety of infrastructure projects nationwide, particularly in the fields of health and security infrastructure, and has procured a variety of vehicles, non-medical health related items and medical equipment.

The Renewable Energy in Sierra Leone (RESL) project is a first of its kind in scale and scope in Sierra Leone and regionally in Sub-Saharan Africa, implemented by the Ministry of Energy (MOE) with support from the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and grant funded by DFID. The project is contributing to Sierra Leone’s economic development through increased access to electricity in rural areas while simultaneously reducing Sierra Leone’s future GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions. 

This project aims to establish an enabling environment in Sierra Leone for a private sector driven rural mini-grid market and to provide up to 5MW of sustainable renewable power in rural community households; priority institutions such as Community Health Centers (CHCs), schools, agricultural business centers; and other productive uses as well as chiefdom administrative offices through installations of at least 94 solar mini-grids based on a Public-Private Partnership approach. 

The implementation of the project is developed around the following Work Packages (WP): 

Work package 1 / 1+. 6kWp solar photovoltaic (PV) generation plants at 54 Community Health Centres (CHCs) were installed between April and July 2017. These generation plants were then extended into small mini-grids with a capacity between 16kW and 36kW and distribution networks installed which will eventually connect all other public institutions and households in 50 of these communities. All 50 mini-grids are installed and ready for operation as of October 2018.

Work package 2: aims to bring the country’s photovoltaic (PV) power generation capacity up to 5MW by attracting the private sector to invest in the mini-grid market while drawing on the lessons of WP 1/1+. WP2 will install mini-grids in an additional 40 communities with >36kW systems (up to max. 200kWp) using sustainable business and delivery models developed by the private sector.

Private sector operators have been selected through a competitive tender process, and will take on operation and maintenance of WP1/1+ mini-grids and co-invest in the development of the WP2 sites. The operators will be responsible for the last mile connection to identified customers and the in-house wiring of customer homes. 

Work package 3: provides Technical Assistance (TA) and institutional capacity building to the Ministry of Energy, the Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission, other relevant government agencies as necessary, as well as to private sector companies selected to operate WP1 sites and co-invest in and operate WP2 sites.

Work Package 5: This work package focuses on the Monitoring and Evaluation function of the project. The project M&E plan comprises conducting Impact Evaluations (baseline, midline and endline surveys) of WP1/1+ and WP2 sites and regular Impact Monitoring in the form of collecting Most Significant Change (MSC) stories using web platforms from the minigrid catchment areas. This work package also includes communication, which promotes the visibility of the project, shares information and maintains the reputation of the project both locally and internationally.

The other component of the work package includes facilitating and coordinating community engagement and feedback mechanisms between the communities and key stakeholders. 

Work Package 6: Private sector development. Through this work package, RESL seeks to develop a private sector engagement and strengthening strategy, underpinned by a keen understanding of local market systems, to promote productive use economies in mini‐grid catchment areas; supporting both the commercial viability of the privately operated minigrids,

In its two years of implementation, the project has installed 50 mini-grids. These installations will be expanded in capacity throughout the life of the project to 2021, with 44 additional installations. The RESL mini-grid sites are poised to be hubs of new and improved economic activities generating better employment opportunities and incomes and fostering social and economic welfare for communities.

UNOPS is seeking highly motivated and dynamic Programme Management Support Analyst to support and strengthen RESL the delivery of its Monitoring and Evaluation Workstream to allow the project to optimize the benefits for the communities and electricity users it aims to serve.  

The Programme Management Support Analyst is required to have a thorough understanding of the data collection and analysis related to Impact Evaluations, Most Significant Change (MSC) story collection, and the use of databases for managing large volumes of data implementing community engagement and feedback mechanism in complex development projects. The successful candidate will be responsible for supporting rolling out the M&E Workstream as well as other, related cross cutting workstreams including community engagement, visibility and communications among others. 

1. Stakeholder Management

• Establish solid working relationship with the communities, institutional partners and key stakeholders;

• Coordinate and support management and delivery of the M&E Workstream providing day-to-day operational support to interventions and partnerships working both independently and with guidance from the team lead;

• Liaise with Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ministry of Energy (MOE) to obtain periodic data (e.g. Community Health Clinic performance data etc.) for triangulation of evaluation results;

• Support the effective and timely coordination of stakeholder communications in order to make them aware of project activities and progress visualization;

• Advise the Team Leader/M&E Specialist on issues that may impact the achievement of objectives and project outcomes;

• Collect Most Significant Change (MSC) stories from the electrified communities using web platform on a monthly basis following the MSC strategy;

• Support the monitoring of outputs to ensure effective execution of their workflow;  

• Support the M&E Specialist to provide ad hoc information to UNOPS internal, donor and other stakeholders.

• Revisit the MSC respondents to follow up and review the stories over the project period;

2. Delivery Performance

• Support the M&E Specialist/Team Leader to coordinate the delivery and maintenance of Work-Package plans;

• Assist with needs and performance assessments ensuring project objectives and deliverables are well documented;

• Monitor the delivery of milestones to ensure adherence to project timelines;

• Monitor the milestones against finance deliverables to support proper budget delivery;

• Support the coordination and implementation of approved Work Package plans (including the establishment of milestones) within tolerances set by the project;

• Liaise with any external parties (e.g. ministries, other UN agencies, I/NGOs etc.) to support the M&E consultants in carrying out the evaluation studies as required;

• Alert the M&E Specialist/Team Leader (as required) of any deviations from the plan work plan or finances;

• Support the management of risk register for the Project and Work Package;

• Support the Monitoring and evaluation of service providers’ performance;

3. Procedures

• Follow the Project Management Cycle instructions and ensure that all organizational policy is complied with (Organizational Directives and Administrative Instructions). 

• Assist the Team Leader to manage third party contractors in line with impact evaluation, dashboard development etc.; 

• Follow standard data collection and other ethical guidelines in the process of collecting most significant change stories;

• Ensure that the external contractors are following the HSSE guidelines and sampling  strategy in the data collection processes;

• Contribute to the monitoring and adaptation of work plans for effective delivery tracking and UNOPS reporting. 

• In support of the supervisor, provide inputs on WP5 progress towards the overall project objectives into the following reports: 

• Actively contribute to the maintenance of the following: i. G-suite based Project Document Archive; ii. Procurement, HR and Finance files as required.

• Coordinate with the supervisor to support the Project Manager, Deputy Project Manager and project management unit to ensure that all expenditure comply with UNOPS Financial Rules and Regulations (FRR). 

• Support in managing budgets, cash flow and obligations related to the Work Package to ensure that deliverables are met and payments to contractors and personnel are received on time.

• With guidance of the Team Leader, conduct due diligence of Grantees and suppliers of goods and services.

• Check all Grantees documentation to ensure that Grantees meet all conditions before funds disbursements. 

• Conduct rapid market verifications to ensure that Grantees submitted invoices are in line with market trends.

• Support the M&E Specialist to spot check and monitoring of baseline, midline and endline surveys following a standard methodology and checklist;

• Undertake spot check of data collection surveys in treatment and control communities and provide feedback to the field data collection coordinators and supervisors;

• Support the M&E Specialist to clean the survey data sets and prepare for analysis and visualization;

• Review and clean the information and prepare it for further analysis and visualization;

4. Data and Knowledge Management

• Participate in the relevant Communities of Practice, update meetings and other knowledge management activities.

• Acquire and demonstrate the Knowledge of industry best practices.

• Prepare and disseminate infograps and other visuals on most significant change stories;

• Support the the programme team in documenting and maintaining lessons learnt from the delivery of the Work Package for the purposes of knowledge sharing and continuous improvement in the delivery of similar activities.

• Support the M&E Specialist to manage the project result framework through google sheets, donor annual review and other reporting of the project;

• Support the M&E Specialist to capture, maintain and analyse the milestone results of project indicators, which are obtained from UNOPS technical teams and private sector operators;

• Update and maintain the google based live M&E matrix on a regular basis as well as provide inputs to the logframe indicators;

• With guidance from the M&E Specialist, interact with the consultant/s to develop and roll out of the google studio based project dashboard. Feed the dashboard data points with periodic evaluation data and information;

5. Personnel Management: 

• Support the training of  team members on M&E related topics as required by project plans. 

• Perform project support role, unless appointed to another person or corporate/programme function 

6. Core Values and Principles: 

• Understand and respect UNOPS sustainability principles: 

1. Look for ways to embed UNOPS sustainability principles in day to day project management 

2. Seek opportunities to champion gender equality at the workplace 

3. Champion and communicate project’s sustainability aspects with key stakeholders 

• Understand and Respect National ownership and capacity: 

1. Understand the principles of the Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness and mainstream them into the project plans 

2. Look for ways to build capacity of local counterparts 

3. Understand the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) and UNOPS, the project’s place in the UN system: 

4. Strive to build strong partnerships and effective coordination among relevant project actors (e.g. United Nations, governments, and non-governmental organizations or other relevant partners) 

• Accountability for results and the use of resources: The project management processes are designed to deliver maximum accountability, transparency and results. If a project or processes are not in line with this, it is the responsibility of the Program Analyst to raise the issue with the Team leader

• Excellence: Contribute to innovation and the adaptation of best practice standards of sustainability and quality. 

A. Education 

• Advanced university degree (master or equivalent) with two  years of relevant experience

• University degree with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above.

• A relevant combination of academic credentials and/or industry certifications and qualifying  experience may be accepted in lieu of the university education.

B. Work Experience

• At least 2 years’ experience in the implementation of development projects is a requirement;

• Experience in implement monitoring and evaluation systems and/or field based data collection in support of market/social scientific research studies is required;

• Demonstrated experience working with large datasets and/or platforms (e.g. surveymonkey, ODK, sharepoint etc.) is highly desirable;

• Experience engaging with institutional stakeholders such as Ministries, development partners and public sector officials is highly desirable;

• Experience in the usage of computers and in office software packages (GSuites, MS Office 2010 and/or newer versions) is required;

• Experience in community/stakeholder engagement is an advantage;

• Experience gathering qualitative data and/or human impact stories is highly desirable

• Prior related experience in the UN system is an asset;

• Experience implementing gender mainstreaming activities is highly desired;

C. Personal Attributes

• Prepared to travel around the country

• Self-starter and able to work with minimal supervision

• Passion for rural development

• Strong analytical skills 

• Effective written and oral communication

D. Language 

• Fluency in English and local language is essential.

• Knowledge of Krio and/or other local languages is an advantage.

• Contract type: Local Individual Contract Agreement 
• Contract level: LICA 9/ ICS 9
• Contract duration: Ongoing ICA – ‘Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.’

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• Freetown is a Family Duty Station
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types.
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.

Africa Region

AFR helps ensure that projects are executed to the highest standards, providing a shared knowledge base and ensuring that best practices and lessons learned are disseminated between projects across the entire region.